Mathijs van Asten and Vedet Dk Z jump to silver in CSI2* GP of Oliva

While in most places the outdoor season is quietly coming to an end, last week at the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Oliva, Spain, the starting gun was fired for the first phase of the Autumn Tour 2024. After the exciting Longines Ranking Trials on Friday and Saturday, on Sunday it was looking forward to the CSI2* Grand Prix, in which a podium place was reserved for Dutch rider Mathijs van Asten. He did so with the 9-year-old chestnut stallion Vedet Dk Z, an offspring of Vagabond de la Pomme and Carthago Z, bred in the Netherlands by De Krochten Stables. Van Asten and his talented chestnut stallion were among the 19 combinations who managed to clear the technical basic round, which earned them a place in the jump-off. Also in this decisive round, they managed to keep all bars in the reels, and with their clear round they finished in a well-deserved^2nd place in the final ranking.

Also on Sunday, the CSI2* competition included a 1.40m class, in which a Zangersheide horse did take top spot. It was the young Belgian rider Mathieu Guery who jumped to victory with the 9-year-old gelding Time-Breaker S Z, a son of Toulon and Calvados from the Dutch breeding farm of P. Sleutels. Guery and Time-Breaker S Z kept all the bars neatly in the reels in both the first and second stages, and with a lightning-fast time of 28.90 seconds they managed to keep the competition just behind.

But 2nd place also came in blue and yellow, and German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop took care of that with the 8-year-old mare Eau de Vie Jeleena Dr Z, a daughter of Elvis Ter Putte and Tornedo Fcs from the Dyllan De Rycke stud farm. Brinkop and Eau de Vie Jeleena Dr Z also managed to stay clear twice, but they needed 28.94 seconds to complete their rounds.

The 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Saturday also saw Dutch rider Marc Houtzager and the 10-year-old mare Dwivoli van de Groote Kamps Z, a daughter of Denzel van 't Meulenhof and Roven XX from the breeding farm of E.W.J.Bakker, also take 2nd place. In a jump-off for which 8 combinations managed to qualify, Houtzager and Dwivoli van de Groote Kamps Z again produced a clear round in a time of 50.85 seconds.

3rd place was then taken by Belgium's Bart Jay Junior Vandecasteele and the 8-year-old gelding Vamos de La Pomme d'Or Z, a breeding product of Patrick Huyse, who combined the blood of Vigo d'Arsouilles with that of Ogano Sitte. They crossed the finish line in 53.77 seconds after a clear round, which also earned them a podium place.

Finally, Portuguese rider Duarte Seabra and the 12-year-old gelding Van Halen Z (Vigo d'Arsouilles x Canturo - Breeder: Guido Sperveslage) were also a notable combination during this opening week of Oliva. Having already started their show on Thursday with a 5th place in the 1.45m main class, they finished 8th in the standings during this Longines Ranking Test on Saturday.